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Ray-Bernice Alexandra Kaiser Eames (December 15, 1912 - August 21, 1988) (pronounced [ɹeɪ ˈiːmz]) was an American artist, designer, architect and filmmaker who, together with her husband Charles, is responsible for many classic, iconic designs of the 20th century. She was born in Sacramento, California. Having lived in a number of cities during her youth, in 1933 she moved to New York, where she studied abstract painting with Hans Hofmann.

In September 1940 she began studies at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where she met Charles Eames, marrying him the following year. Settling in Los Angeles, California, Charles and Ray Eames would lead an outstanding career in design and architecture (for details see "Charles Eames").

Ray Eames died in Los Angeles in 1988, ten years to the day after Charles.

External links

Designer Furniture by Charles and Ray Eames

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-'''Charles Eames''' ([[June 17]], [[1907]] – [[August 21]], [[1978]]) ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|pronounced]] {{IPA|[imz]}}) was an American [[design]]er, [[architecture|architect]] and [[film]]maker who, together with his wife [[Ray Eames|Ray]], is responsible for many classic, iconic designs of the [[20th century]].
+'''Ray-Bernice Alexandra Kaiser Eames''' ([[December 15]], [[1912]] - [[August 21]], [[1988]]) (pronounced {{IPA|[ɹeɪ ˈiːmz]}}) was an American artist, [[design]]er, [[architecture|architect]] and [[film]]maker who, together with her husband [[Charles Eames|Charles]], is responsible for many classic, iconic designs of the [[20th century]]. She was born in [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]], [[California]]. Having lived in a number of cities during her youth, in [[1933]] she moved to [[New York City|New York]], where she studied abstract painting with [[Hans Hofmann]].
+In September [[1940]] she began studies at the [[Cranbrook Academy of Art]] in [[Bloomfield Hills]], [[Michigan]], where she met Charles Eames, marrying him the [[1941|following year]]. Settling in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[California]], [[Charles and Ray Eames]] would lead an outstanding career in design and architecture (for details see "[[Charles Eames]]").
-==Biography==
-'''Charles Ormond Eames, Jr''' was born in 1907 in [[St. Louis, Missouri|Saint Louis]], [[Missouri]]. By the time he was 14 years old, while attending high school, Charles worked at the [[Laclede Steel Company]] as a part-time laborer, where he learned about engineering, drawing, and architecture (and also first entertained the idea of one day becoming an architect).
+Ray Eames died in Los Angeles in [[1988]], ten years to the day after Charles.
-Charles briefly studied architecture at [[Washington University]] in St. Louis on an architectural scholarship. He proposed studying [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] to his professors, and when he would not cease his interest in modern architects, he was dismissed from the university. In the report describing why he was dismissed from the university, a professor wrote the comment "His views were too modern." While at Washington University, he met his first wife, Catherine Woermann, whom he married in [[1929]]. A year later, they had a daughter, Lucia.
+[[Category:1912 births|Eames, Ray]]
-After he left school and was married, Charles began his own architectural practice, with partners Charles Gray and later Walter Pauley.
+[[Category:1988 deaths|Eames, Ray]]
+[[Category:American architects|Eames, Ray]]
+[[Category:Furniture designers|Eames, Ray]]
+[[Category:Modernist architects|Eames, Ray]]
+[[Category:Women architects|Eames, Ray]]
+[[de:Ray Eames]]
-[[Image:Charles_and_Ray_Eames-Silhouettes-Communications_primer_256kb.mp4.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Silhouettes of Charles and Ray Eames from the educational film ''A Communications Primer'']]
+[[fr:Ray Eames]]
+[[nl:Ray Eames]]
-One great influence on him was the Finnish architect [[Eliel Saarinen]] (whose son [[Eero Saarinen|Eero]], also an architect, would become a partner and friend). At the elder Saarinen's invitation, he moved in [[1938]] with his wife Catherine and daughter Lucia to [[Michigan]], to further study architecture at the [[Cranbrook Academy of Art]], where he would become a teacher and head of the [[industrial design]] department. One of the requirements of the Architecture and Urban Planning Program, at the time Eames applied, was for the student to have decided upon his project and gathered as much pertinent information in advance – Eames' interest was in the St. Louis waterfront. Together with Eero Saarinen he designed prize-winning furniture for [[New York City|New York's]] [[Museum of Modern Art]] "Organic Design" competition. Their work displayed the new technique of wood moulding (originally developed by [[Alvar Aalto]]), that Eames would further develop in many moulded [[plywood]] products, including, beside [[chair]]s and other [[furniture]], splints and stretchers for the [[U.S. Navy]] during [[World War II]].
-In [[1941]], Charles and Catherine divorced, and he married his Cranbrook colleague [[Ray Eames|Ray Kaiser]], who was born in Sacramento, California. He then moved with her to [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[California]], where they would work and live for the rest of their lives. In the late [[1940s]], as part of the [[Arts & Architecture magazine]] "[[Case Study Houses|Case Study]]" program, Ray and Charles designed and built the groundbreaking [[Eames House]], [[Case Study House #8]], as their home. Located upon a cliff overlooking the [[Pacific Ocean]], and constructed entirely of pre-fabricated steel parts intended for [[industrial construction]], it remains a milestone of [[modern architecture]].
-==Designers==
-In the [[1950s]], the Eameses would continue their work in architecture and [[modern furniture]] design, often (like in the earlier moulded plywood work) pioneering innovative technologies, such as the [[fiberglass]] and plastic resin chairs and the wire mesh chairs designed for [[Herman Miller (office equipment)|Herman Miller]]. Besides this work, Charles would soon channel his interest in [[photography]] into the production of [[short film]]s. From their first one, the unfinished ''Traveling Boy'' ([[1950]]), to the extraordinary ''[[Powers of Ten]]'' ([[1977]]), their cinematic work was an outlet for ideas, a vehicle for experimentation and education.
-The Eameses also conceived and designed a number of landmark exhibitions. The first of these, [[Mathematica: a world of numbers...and beyond]] ([[1961]]), was sponsored by IBM, and is the only one of their exhibitions still extant. The original was created for a new wing of the (currently named) [[California Science Center]]; it is now owned by and on display at the [[New York Hall of Science]]. In late 1961 a duplicate was created for the [[Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago]]; in 1980 it moved to the [[Museum of Science, Boston]]. Another version was created for the [[1964/1965 New York World's Fair]] IBM exhibit. After the World's Fair it was moved to the [[Pacific Science Center]] in Seattle where it stayed until 1980. The Mathematica Exhibition  is still considered a model for [[scientific popularization]] exhibitions. It was followed by "A Computer Perspective: Background to the Computer Age" ([[1971]]) and "The World of Franklin and Jefferson" ([[1975]]-[[1977]]), among others.
-The office of Charles and Ray Eames, which functioned for more than four decades (1943-88) at 901 Washington Boulevard in [[Venice, California]], included in its staff, at one time of another, a number of remarkable designers, like [[Don Albinson]] and [[Deborah Sussman]]. Among the many important designs originating there are the molded-plywood DCW (Dining Chair Wood) and DCM (Dining Chair Metal with a plywood seat) (1945), [[Eames Lounge Chair]] ([[1956]]), the Aluminum Group furniture ([[1958]]) and as well as the Eames Chaise ([[1968]]), designed for Charles's friend, film director [[Billy Wilder]], as well as molded plywood leg splints for the US Navy, the playful Do-Nothing Machine (1957), an early [[solar energy]] experiment, and a number of toys.
-Short films produced by the couple often document their interests in collecting toys and cultural artifacts on their travels. The films also record the process of hanging their exhibits or producing classic furniture designs, to the purposefully mundane topic of filming soap suds moving over the pavement of a parking lot. Perhaps their most popular movie, "''Powers of 10''", gives a dramatic demonstration of [[orders of magnitude]] by visually zooming away from the earth to the edge of the universe, and then microscopically zooming into the nucleus of a carbon atom. Charles was a prolific photographer as well with thousands of images of their furniture, exhibits and collections, and now a part of the Library of Congress.
-Charles Eames died of a heart attack on August 21, [[1978]] while on a consulting trip in his native Saint Louis, and now has a star on the [[St. Louis Walk of Fame]]. Ray died 10 years later to the exact day.
-==Philosophy==
-[[Image:Eames-design_process.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A sketch by Charles Eames illustrating the Eames design Process]]
-The Eames philosophy was very much entrenched in process. Process to get to the final product often took years of trial and error.
-At one time, Charles gave a series of lectures called the "[[Norton Lectures]]". At the lecture, the Eames viewpoint and philosophy is related through Charles' own telling of what he called ''the banana leaf parable''. A banana leaf being the most basic dish off which to eat, in southern India. He related the progression of design and its process where the banana leaf is transformed into something fantastically ornate. He explains the next step and ties it to the design process by finishing the parable with:
-:"But you can go beyond that and the guys that have not only means, but a certain amount of knowledge and understanding, go the next step and they eat off of a banana leaf. And I think that in these times when we fall back and regroup, that somehow or other, the banana leaf parable sort of got to get working there, because I'm not prepared to say that the banana leaf that one eats off of is the same as the other eats off of, but it's that process that has happened within the man that changes the banana leaf. And as we attack these problems – and I hope and I expect that the total amount of energy used in this world is going to go from high to medium to a little bit lower – the banana leaf idea might have a great part in it."
-==Works==
-{{dynamic_list}}
-===Architecture===
-*St. Louis Post-Dispatch model home (193?)
-*St. Mary's Church (Helena, Arkansas) (193?)
-*Meyer House (1938)
-*Bridge house (Eames - Saarinen) (1945)
-*[[Case Study House #8]] (1945)
-*[[Eames House]] (1949)
-===Selected films===
-*''A Communications Primer'' (1953)
-*''Toccata for Toy Trains'' (1957)
-*''Tops''
-*''[[Powers of 10]]'' (1977)
-* ''Fiberglass Chairs''
-* ''SX-70''
-*''Eames Lounge Chair''
-===Exhibition design===
-*Glimpses of the USA (7 screens for the American exhibition in Moscow, Sokoolniki Park) (1959)
-*Mathematica (for IBM) (1961)
-* IBM Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair
-*Nehru: The man and his India (1965)
-===Exhibits and retrospectives===
-*[http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9905/eames.html Library of Congress exhibit] (1999)
-===Furniture===
-*Eames-Saarinen Kleinhans chair (1939)
-*Eames-Saarinen organic chair (1941)
-*Children's chairs (1945)
-*[[Eames Lounge Chair Wood (LCW)]] (1945)
-*Circular table wood (1945)
-*Eames Plywood Side Chair (1946)
-*La chaise (1948)
-*Eames RAR (Rocker Armchair Rod) Rocker (1948)
-*Eames Eiffel Plastic Side Chair (1950)
-*Eames Eiffel Plastic Armchair (1950)
-*Eames Desk and Storage Units (1950)
-*Eames Desk and Storage Units (1950)
-*Eames Sofa Compact (1954)
-*[[Eames Lounge Chair|Eames lounge chair and ottoman]] (1956)
-*Eames Aluminum Management Chair (1958)
-*Eames Aluminum Side Chair (1958)
-*Eames Aluminum Ottoman (1958)
-*Eames Walnut Stool Shape A & B (1960)
-*Eames tandem sling seating (1962)
-*Two piece plastic chair (1971)
-===Other===
-*Molded plywood splint (~1942) for the US military
-*Molded plywood nose cone and other parts for the CG-16 (flying flatcar) glider (1943)
-*Pilot seat (1946) Prototype in molded plywood for the military
-*Newton deck of cards
-*House of cards (1952)
-==Quotes==
-*"No, [[Ray Eames|Ray]] is not my brother."
-*"Innovate as a last resort."
-*"Design is the appropriate combination of materials in order to solve a problem."
-*"I don't remember being forced to accept compromises, but I've willingly accepted constraints."
-*"Take your pleasures seriously."
-==Further reading==
-*John Neuhart, Marilyn Neuhart, Ray Eames ''Eames Design''. New York: [[Harry N. Abrams, Inc.]] 1989. (ISBN 0-8109-0879-4)
-*Eames Demetrios ''An Eames Primer''. New York: Universe, 2002. (ISBN 0-7893-0629-8)
-*Gössel, Peter (ED)Koenig Gloria ''Eames'' [[Taschen]] 2005 (ISBN 3-8228-3651-6)
 ==External links==
-Official sites:
-*[http://www.eamesoffice.org/ Eames Office Resources]
-*[http://www.eamesfoundation.org/ Eames Foundation]
-*[http://www.eamesgallery.com/Eames Gallery and Store]
-*[http://www.eamesfabric.com/ Eames Fabric Designs]
 * [http://www.retrorepublic.co.uk/designers/eames/index.htm Designer Furniture by Charles and Ray Eames]
+{{architect-stub}}
-===Pictures===
-Chairs and furniture:
-*[http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A1671&page_number=1&template_id=6&sort_order=1 Museum of Modern Art collection] (MoMA.org)
-*[http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/SSA/Product/0,1592,a10-c440-p47,00.html Eames Lounge Chair] (produced by Herman Miller)
-*[http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/SSA/Product/0,1592,a10-c440-p41,00.html Eames Chaise] (Herman Miller)
-*[http://www.eamesbikini.com/ Eames Wire Chair]
-*[http://memory.loc.gov/pp/collSubjects43.html Library of Congress archive]
-*[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/d?fsaall,app,brum,detr,swann,look,gottscho,pan,horyd,genthe,var,cai,cd,hh,yan,bbcards,lomax,ils,prok,brhc,nclc,matpc,iucpub,tgmi:0:./temp/~pp_hSpK: Photographs by Charles Eames in the Library of Congress collection]
-*[http://www.steeldomus.com/aluminium_group_chair_119_hn_charles_eames.htm Eames Aluminium Group Chair]
-===Resources===
-*[http://www.designdictionary.co.uk/ENG/eames.htm Charles Eames - Design Dictionary] Architect and designer Charles Eames.
-*[http://www.modernfurnitureclassics.com/index.php/main_page/editorial/title/Title%2028 www.modernfurnitureclassics.com - Working with the Eames] - an interview with designer Henrik de Kanter.
-===Film references===
-*[http://powersof10.com/ Powers of 10]
-*{{imdb name|id=0247177}}
-Films in the public domain:
-*[http://www.archive.org/details/communications_primer Communications Primer, A (1953)] (www.archive.org)
-*[http://www.archive.org/details/InformationM Information Machine, The (1958)]
-[[Category:1907 births|Eames, Charles]]
-[[Category:1978 deaths|Eames, Charles]]
-[[Category:American architects|Eames, Charles]]
-[[Category:Furniture designers|Eames, Charles]]
-[[Category:Industrial designers|Eames, Charles]]
-[[Category:Modernist architects|Eames, Charles]]
-[[Category:St. Louis Walk of Fame|Eames, Charles]]
-[[Category:Washington University in St. Louis alumni|Eames, Charles]]
-[[de:Charles Eames]]
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